I'm a fan of this 404 page of dancing construction workers. I think the original page got taken down, but it's available on YouTube:
468 karma · joined January 9, 2019
HBO - $14/m (?) - Legacy ad-free. Can't recall the exact cost off the top of my head
Hulu - $12/y - Will cancel it a year from now
Obsidian - Note-taking desktop app with a nice UI, good extensions, tagging, and more.
Leechblock - Browser extension that blocks certain sites during specified time periods. I've got a similar app on my phone, but its free version only allows 3 apps to be blocked.
I also use a blocker app on my phone and it's more jarring to get that angry background and "You tried to go to X app Y times today".
Here's what I'm into:
- Barbour waxed jacket - Bought for brand new at a significant discount from a retailer in the UK
- Two mechanical keyboards
- Patagonia better sweater fleeces - Although I bought one of my fleeces at full price, the quality, warmth, and fit are second to none and it was 100% worth it.
- Two pairs of goodyear welted boots - Goodyear welting means that the soles can be repaired easily, and I'm aiming to have the boots around for years to come.
- A narrow-width backpack from Timbuk2 - I've heard the brand has dipped in quality, but the model I'd gotten was still classified as BIFL at the time of purchase.
- Zojirushi thermos - It's never leaked on me and years later, it still keeps my water cold for long periods of time.
- Zojirushi rice cooker (a Made in Japan model, versus one made elsewhere) - Bought it used on eBay and it works like a charm.
- Good socks (Darn Tough, Smartwool, etc) - I get mine at TJ Maxx/Marshall's/etc and they're significantly cheaper than getting them online or at a retailer like REI.
- Standing desk
- Two 24" monitors, each on single Humanscale monitor arms (bought used on eBay, at a significant discount). I switched from dual arms to single because the latter means that I can move one monitor without affecting the other.
- Tenkeyless mechanical keyboard (MX silent red switches)
- 60% mech keyboard (MX brown switches)
- Vertical Logitech mouse on a mousepad (that looks like a mini carpet)
- Work laptop
- Microphone on a Rode arm (bought used on eBay) that's fixed onto a wall shelf
- Custom-built PC in an ATX Mid Tower
- HDMI switch that lets me use my main monitor with my work laptop and my PC
- USB switch that lets me do the same with my keyboard and mouse
- A collection of mechanical pencils in a ceramic sugar skull
Specific role at job: I work on a user dashboard and profile page. Users can set up X, can see what X they have, and can check the statuses of other things. My team's biggest problem is figuring out how to get users to do Y without getting stuck.
I traveled over the summer and relied heavily on free WiFi, which meant me signing up and giving them my email. I knew that I was going to be bombarded with spam, so I created the junk account to handle all of it.
![[Pasted image 20221028163039.png|500]]
If you want to adjust the width and height, then you can do this:
![[Pasted image 20221028163039.png|500x700]]
Some of the issues I ran into include (but aren't limited to):
- Files and folders located in counterintuitive locations. Random files that ended up in some locations "just because". After a few years of working that job I knew where certain things were through tribal knowledge.
- Wading through files and documents that were years old. If SharePoint has a system in place that deletes files above a certain age, we didn't have anything like that set up.
- Dealing with a complicated access/security system, that restricted some users from seeing some pages.
- Having to make the intranet pages "work" with IE11. A good chunk of employees preferred using IE11 as their browser of choice so we couldn't not work on compatibility.
- Once, I accidentally moved in-progress HTML and JS files into a prod folder and one of the pages broke in prod. Fortunately it was after hours and I was able to retrieve the original files from GitHub.
- Major performance issues on some of the more data-heavy pages.
- Users not seeing links to docs because they was checked out (like library books), usually by one person with credentials different from everyone else.
That was Job 1 and I'd hoped to never touch SharePoint again. I'm on Job 3 now and I grimaced when I saw that the company used it as its intranet. I'd hate to be on the team responsible for maintenance.
https://vscodethemes.com/e/ulthes.theme-firewatch/firewatch-...
Verbiage like "Backend: Python, Kotlin, Java, Rails", etc was misleading because I couldn't tell what exactly they used in their day to day.
I'm mostly kidding, but if you're attacked from an unsuspecting angle then no amount of armaments will protect you from that first punch.
For instance:
- On our frontend we use: React, TypeScript, NextJS, and React Native
- Feel free to apply if you have experience with: Angular, Vue, or other frontend frameworks
However, I can think of very few documentaries that come close to what it achieved and how it made me feel when watching it. Kurt put every fiber of his being into making it, and it shows. However, it's not an easy watch and I'd be hesitant to watch it again all the way through.
If you decide to check it out, please do not read up anything about it. Don't go onto Wikipedia or its IMDB page, don't search for reviews on it. Don't search for it at all. Just watch it.
Edit: You can watch it here, for free: https://pluto.tv/en/on-demand/movies/dear-zachary-a-letter-t...
1. Recreate problem in prod - How was it triggered? I did a bit of digging and noticed that it happened when very specific conditions occurred.
2. Recreate it locally - Got an error message, i.e. `SomeVar is not defined`.
3. SomeVar - Why is it `undefined`? I started working backwards and realized that the `SomeVar` functionality was working as intended, but it's what was being fed into it that was the issue.
4. Working backwards - I had a hunch as to why the error was occurring when I started, and when I worked backwards I realized that I was partially correct.
5. More research - In regards to point 4, I learned what else was missing (i.e. why I was partially correct about my hunch).
6. Start coding - Since the issue was in prod, I put in a pretty shoddy hotfix. It worked, but it tacked on some logic into code that was already pretty confusing (due to a lot of conditional scenarios in the UI).
7. PR - I opened a PR, but to my Sr Dev's point the solution worked but the code wasn't clean.
8. Sr Dev chat - We had a quick chat, and even though the issue was in prod only a few people had it happening to them (the feature wasn't widely used). Also, unless we were actively losing money due to a prod issue, a hotfix isn't needed and we can take the time to write cleanly.
9. Coding - I realized that there was an even easier way to write the code without introducing confusing logic. I scrapped about 95% of what I had and put in something that not only worked, but was much cleaner. I also wrote some tests, as per the Sr's recommendation.
10. Updated PR - I followed-up with the Sr, who thanked me for revising the code and for writing the tests.
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Although I reached the original solution and the new one on my own, having discussions with the Senior Dev was incredibly beneficial.
Although I could disable the blockers if I really wanted to, I usually don't.
In the event that the blockers aren't helping, then I'll move my phone to the other side of the room so that it's completely out of reach.
To name a few:
- AskAnAmerican - Interesting to get American and non-American perspectives on things, for good and bad.
- corgi - Self-explanatory.
- Eldenring
- ExperiencedDevs
- news - It's a popular subreddit and therefore filled with lots of crap, but I like to get a birds eye view of what's happening.
- ShitPostCrusaders - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure shitposts
- dadswhodidnotwantpets
- EatSandwiches
- Mid_Century - Furniture and art
- oldmaps - I love antique maps.
- vexillology - I also love flags.
- specializedtools
- UnresolvedMysteries
- WTFaucet - Strange faucets.
- taskmaster - Dedicated to the British panel show
- College is one of the best opportunities to meet people and make friends, especially since the freshman are all in the same boat and (in lots of cases) won't know anyone else going in.
- During the first few weeks of classes, I recommend setting up 15-minute 1-on-1's with your professors so that they can put a name to your face and you can get to know more about them.
- Although doing very little to no studying and getting good grades in high school was possible, it's a lot harder to make it work in college. The coursework is more challenging and the topics go into a lot more depth, so winging it will be a challenge and frankly, isn't worth it.
- I highly recommend signing up for classes in the morning (but depending on who you are, not too early). I signed up for a lot of morning classes, which meant that I was done with the day before lunch and could devote the afternoons to studying and getting work done.
- Looking back, I thought that high school woefully under-prepared me for essay writing in college. The five paragraph structure that's commonly taught in HS is a good starting point, but there's a lot more involved at the university level that isn't covered, unfortunately.
- If you're going to have a roommate (which you probably will), and you're not used to living in the same space as another person, please be mindful of boundaries, i.e. cleaning up after yourself, noise levels, not letting your messes ease onto their side of the room, etc. With that being said, this is a two-way street and they need to do the same.
- As a senior I took a class with a bunch of freshman, and a lot of them asked if they could use the restroom withing the first week. You do not need permission to go. You're an adult. I told one girl she didn't have to ask, and she said "Are you sure? But...". I'm sure!
- On a related note, the professors will treat you like an adult. This also means that unless there are specific circumstances they will not chase you if you're missing an assignment. They'll just mark it as a 0.
- Back when I used it, https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ was a fantastic resource, but be sure to look at a bunch of reviews and not let a few bad ones let you dismiss someone.
/r/corgi
/r/dadswhodidnotwantpets - Pictures and videos of men (and sometimes women) cuddling with animals after initially rejecting them
/r/sbubby - Pictures of edited logos that look like other logos (e.g. Changing "The Price is Right" logo to say "The Rice is Aight")
/r/wimmelbilder - Imagine the Where's Waldo? images, but with pictures filled to the brim with everything.
I've deposited the maximum $6,000 into my IRA for the past two years, and I plan on doing so indefinitely. If it's December and the paycheck withdrawals haven't totaled $6k, then I'll transfer the remainder from my bank. And although I don't deposit as much into my regular investment account, whenever I see fit I'll transfer some of my bank account funds into it.
I wouldn't be able to do this if it were not for money coming in.
- I'd recommend anyone to do this (using the same app or another one), but I use Obsidian.md for notes. I'll create a page for each Jira ticket that I'm working on, where I'll include personal notes about things I've noticed (e.g. "When passing in this object I get X result") as well as Q's that I have and any answers that I've been given.
- I use the LeechBlock extension to block certain websites between certain times of the day, including HackerNews and LinkedIn (the latter is a huge rabbit hole for me). Link: https://www.proginosko.com/leechblock/
- I've got noise-cancelling headphones. There's a lot of sirens and honking horns outside of my place and they do a great job at blocking those things.
- If I'm really distracted, I'll move my phone to the other side of the room so it's out of sight.
- I started seeing a psychiatrist in late-January and started taking Vyvanse as a result. At first (lower dosages) I didn't notice a lot of differences, but there was one day to where I didn't take Vyvanse---I was on 40mg and went to pick up my prescription the next day. I was shocked at how much harder it was for me to focus and get stuff done. I asked myself, "Is this what it was like pre-Vyvanse?" Out of all of the items on this list, starting on Vyvanse was probably the most effective thing.
- I got a standing desk a month ago and stand during meetings. Not only is it a bit easier for me to focus, but I'm also getting my money's worth :)
With them, I can:
- Block 99% of ads (popups, banners, YT ads, etc). I can also use this extension's picker to block elements of my choosing (e.g. an annoying sales banner)
- Create custom CSS themes and override any webpage. For instance, if I know I'll be looking at a lot of documentation I'll set up a theme that turns the background dark and the text white.
- See what technologies (languages, frameworks, reverse proxies, etc) a website is using.
- Block access to a URL between X and Y hours a day, certain days a week.
In terms of products, I used to use Evernote and used their desktop app for a brief time, and it was nice because it synced with the browser extension. However, I almost never used the app and used the extension 96% of the time.
Larger work projects - Separate Todoist folder with a ToDo for each item (e.g. "Increase modal by X pixels")
Jira tickets - Obsidian.md (I create a page for an in-progress ticket and add personal notes, Q's to ask about (I include the answers), etc.)
Simple things - White board on my wall
My dad has some of the worst self-esteem I've ever come across, and he's also rife with anxiety. I have a hunch that he has un-diagnosed Aspergers, which would explain the countless examples of him missing social cues, saying things that are really off-color, seeing many situations as black and white, and seemingly having a lack of empathy when it comes to certain things that I've experienced first-hand. Do I love him? I guess, but over the years I've had to keep my distance from him.